The present invention relates generally to a joining connector for providing connection between flat printed circuit cables.
Conventionally, there are “relay” connectors that permit connection between two flat cables, often referred to as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC), this is shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 9-185977). FIG. 16 is an exploded view of a conventional relay connector.
As shown in FIG. 16, the relay connector has an insulative housing 301 and a plurality of conductive terminals 302, and are held by the housing 301. The terminals 302 are respectively provided with fixing parts 304 that are press-fit into holes of the housing 301. Each terminal 302 has contact parts 303 in the shape of a cantilever that extend in opposite directions so that flat cables 306 may be inserted into the mouth of both contact parts 303.
Pressure receiving parts 307 extend upward and are connected to the terminals near the bases of the contact parts 303. A pressure shaft 311 is connected to the lower end of a lock lever 310 and is inserted into space between the two pressure 307. The lock lever 310 is rotatably mounted on the housing 301, and is rotated 90 degrees about the shaft 311. The shaft 311 is of substantially rectangular cross section, and a longitudinal axis of the rectangle extends vertically as viewed in FIG. 16.
As illustrated in FIG. 16, the lock lever 310 stands upright to allow the flat cables 306 to be inserted from two sides into the contact parts 303. After inserting the two flat cables 306, the lock lever 310 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise, so that the right and left pressure receiving parts 307 are forced apart from one another by the pressure shaft 311. The tips of the contact parts 303 move downward to pinch and lock the flat cables 306 from above, and they contact the leads of the flat cables 306 to electrically connect the right and left flat cables 306.
Such a conventional relay connector has a complicated configuration because the terminals 302 and bilaterally symmetrical and are securely mounted on the single housing 301, with the flat cables 306 inserted from the sides. Therefore, the structure of a mold for forming the housing 301 must be complicated and increases the manufacturing cost. The right and left contact parts 303 are operated simultaneously by the single lock lever 310, so it is necessary to simultaneously insert the right and left flat cables 306. It is not easy to insert the flat cables 306 in the proper attitudes at the same time, which affects the connecting reliability. Furthermore, the connector cannot be carried and moved to a place where the other flat cable 306 is prepared for connection. This lowers the degree of freedom of the operation for connecting the flat cables 306, resulting in lowering of the operability.